Evolution and Challenges of Citizenship: A Historical Perspective
Ancient and Medieval Citizenship
Ancient Greece and Rome
In ancient Greece, citizenship meant participating in the governance of the community. Aristotle defined the citizen as someone who participates in the administration of government and justice. This ‘active’ citizenship prefigures modern citizenship, where citizens are subjects of rights.
Roman citizenship differed from the Greek model. Cicero described political society as an association of men united by a legal system, emphasizing an abstract community rather than a community of life. Roman citizenship was ‘passive’ compared to the Greek polis.
The Eclipse and Reemergence of Citizenship
The fall of the Roman Empire marked a decline in the concept of active citizenship. Saint Augustine of Hippo introduced a Christian ‘contemplative’ citizenship focused on faith.
However, in some Italian cities, the tradition of citizen participation and its philosophical foundations, known as civic humanism, persisted. Civic humanism emphasized:
- The recovery of the thought of Aristotle and Cicero.
- The importance of active engagement in civic life.
- The secularization of knowledge.
- The acceptance of diverse lifestyles within the framework of common laws and regulations.
- The defense of civic virtues.
Machiavelli introduced the concept of virtù, which enabled a life dedicated to public activities and the civic interest of the citizen. This concept greatly influenced the development of republicanism.
The Rise of Centralized States
In the later centuries of the Renaissance, active citizenship declined again due to the rise of centralized bureaucracies. Citizens became subjects.
Bodin distinguished between the serf, who had a personal dependence, and the subject, who had only a political dependence. The citizen had certain privileges and rights that distinguished them from the serf and the foreigner.
Locke argued that the citizen precedes the individual and that their relationship with society is based on private interest. The citizen, as a subject of rights, has a contractual relationship with the state and society. Locke presented the individual as a holder of natural rights, emphasizing the importance of consent to power. These rights act as a limit on the actions of power.
Modern Citizenship
The Birth of Modern Citizenship
The bourgeois revolutions gave rise to modern citizenship, with its essential aspects:
- Legal citizenship: Citizens are equal before the law.
- Political citizenship: Citizens participate in government.
- Nation-state citizenship: Citizens are members of a nation-state, distinct from foreigners.
Key issues of modern citizenship include popular sovereignty and citizenship as a condition of the individual. The social contract is no longer an agreement between the sovereign and the community but between individuals.
The Exclusion of Women
Despite the proclamation of equality and universal freedom, women were excluded from full citizenship due to perceived ‘natural’ differences. This led to inequality, confining women to the private sphere.
Early feminists and some Enlightenment thinkers challenged this view, advocating for equality, reason, and freedom for women. Mary Wollstonecraft argued that women, like men, possess an innate ability to reason.
Defining Modern Citizenship
Citizenship is the relationship between an individual and the political community in which they are registered as a full member with rights. Essential traits of modern citizenship include:
- A set of rights and duties.
- A specific form of insertion into the community through rights and duties.
- Rules governing citizenship and coexistence.
Citizenship always refers to a community with specific traits and history. It grants specific rights and obligations, and citizens have mechanisms for participation.
Challenges of Modern Citizenship
Citizenship denotes a particular form of collective identity, which can be more or less inclusive. The requirements for full membership can vary, but they always involve some degree of exclusion. Citizenship is defined by opposition to who is not a citizen.
Two aspects of membership are particularly relevant in contemporary political philosophy:
- Identity: Citizenship goes beyond the set of rights granted; it involves a consciousness of identity. Citizens feel bound by ties of affection and loyalty.
- The pre-political community: Citizenship is not entirely conventional in modern societies; it is part of a national identity that has a pre-political character.
The notion of membership entails several challenges:
- The tension between universalist and particularist conceptions of citizenship: This tension often manifests as a conflict of loyalties.
- The tension between homogeneity and difference: This relates to the problem of minorities who are not fully integrated.
- The full integration of women as citizens in all dimensions: This remains an ongoing issue.
Citizenship and Rights
The Expansion of Rights
Since Roman times, citizenship has been linked to rights. A citizen is a subject of law. The dominant political discourse equates the development of citizenship with the progressive expansion of rights.
T.H. Marshall distinguished three types of rights:
- Civil rights: Guarantee individual freedom (e.g., freedom of expression, conscience, security).
- Political rights: Guarantee control of political power and participation in decision-making (e.g., the right to vote, run for office).
- Social rights: Guarantee a minimum level of safety and welfare (e.g., the right to unemployment insurance, pensions).
From this perspective, freedom is the distinctive and essential characteristic of citizenship. These three types of rights are fundamental to enjoying freedom.